PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release
Contact: Caitlin Merrill, Director of Media Relations cmerrill@tullylegal.com
518.218.7100 (Office) 

Albany Family Court Children’s Center & Tully Rinckey, PLLC Offer Families the Chance for a Christmas Celebration

December 20, 2007 – Albany, NY – This year for the holiday season, Albany County Family Court is ensuring a merry Christmas for families throughout the region. The Court is reaching out to the families it serves through its seventh annual Adopt-a-Family program.

The program is organized through the Children’s Center at the Family Court, which provides a safe environment for children to play and learn while their parents are dealing with court matters. Dionne Blackshear-Thomas, the director of the Center, was the first to see a need for the program.

“Unfortunately, I see a lot of families in situations which don’t give them the opportunity to have a traditional holiday celebration. After a couple of parents asked if I knew of anyone who could help them out at this time of year, I decided to organize the program,” Blackshear-Thomas said.

In its founding, the program was completely funded by the Center’s Board of Directors, who reached into their own pockets for the funds. Each year since, the Center has partnered with other organizations to sponsor about 15 families a year. However, Blackshear-Thomas has had trouble finding willing donors in recent years, and this year the program will only be able to reach ten families.

“The donors have been dwindling. We would love to see the program grow and have the opportunity to help more and more families each year,” Blackshear-Thomas said.

The Capital Region law firm Tully Rinckey, PLLC is one of the organizations involved in the program this year.

“We saw a wonderful opportunity to give a family the Christmas they deserve. The Family Court Children’s Center provides such a great service to kids by giving them an opportunity to escape from the adversarial atmosphere that can develop in Court.” said Greg T. Rinckey, managing partner of Tully Rinckey, PLLC. “I hope other organizations follow our lead and sponsor a family through the Center next year.”

Members of Tully Rinckey will drop off the gifts for their family at the Albany Family Court Children’s Center at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Dionne Blackshear-Thomas and Greg T. Rinckey are available for comment on the program. For more information about the program, please contact Caitlin Merrill at 518-218-7100 or via email at cmerrill@tullylegal.com.

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Tully Rinckey, PLLC is one of the fastest growing full-service law firms and is dedicated to providing quality legal representation and customer service to individuals, families and businesses throughout New York’s Capital and Hudson Valley Regions. The team of attorneys, paralegals, and professionals helps clients in a wide range of practice areas. The firm maintains a website, www.tullylegal.com, with additional information about its attorneys, achievements, and news stories involving the firm’s work.